A local film production company recently finished making a public service announcement that will air statewide to help save babies' lives. It was done with the help of photography students with developmental disabilities.
The 30-second clip is a PSA for the Safe Surrender Program which allows mothers to turn over their babies for adoption. It's a statewide message produced by students in Bakersfield.
"It's incredible. It's exhilarating for all these kids and they really see the importance of it," said Dale J. Oprandy, Executive Artistic Director for Inclusion Films. "They're like 'Wow, that's heavy, that's important'."
"It's cool," said Domenic Moen, Director of Photography for Inclusion Films. "I am glad a project that the kids are working on is getting so much publicity."
The PSA was done for 2-1-1 L.A. as part of a larger project about 2-1-1's resources. At the end, Inclusion produced a 23-minute documentary, including the PSA and three other stories.
"We also did a story about vets, about the homeless, and about early intervention of autism," said Joey Travolta, Creative Director for Inclusion Films.
"I think it was fun editing," said Paul Gomez, an editor at Inclusion Films. Gomez is a former student turned full-time employee at Inclusion Films. He helped edit the PSA.
"I'm willing to do some more PSAs like this anytime because I liked putting it together," said Gomez.
In addition to Paul, two or three other students helped put together the PSA and it was all shot in Bakersfield with the help of the local fire department.
"It's really good for our kids to see that they live in a community that is willing to take part and help out and put their hands in," said Oprandy.
The commercial was produced in both English and Spanish. The PSA will likely start airing sometime next week.
